RBC HERITAGE

April 14, 2023

Tommy Fleetwood

Harbour Town Golf Links

Quick Quotes

Q. Tommy, how would you assess the round today?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Really good. It was nice to get going, get something going early on. Like two birdies to start, three in the first four. It was a great way to start on what was always going to be a scorable morning.

I felt -- yeah, that middle stretch. So I holed a good putt on 17 for bogey. And then a 3 on 18. Just those momentum breakers, I managed to make them happen and keep the round going.

Overall it was just nice to get a low round going and build some momentum.

Q. Is that what's been key for you recently? Maybe those momentum putts are going in more than they did, say, six, seven, eight months ago?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, maybe. You very rarely, when you're playing, you don't notice things as much. You just keep playing, and you just always assess things afterwards.

I think I'm playing well at the moment. I've been playing pretty solid throughout the year really, and I've just had a lack of like scoring in me. I need more days like today where I make more birdies, and I think as that happens, obviously confidence grows and a bit more freedom when you're playing grows.

I feel like I'm doing a lot of good things, and I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep doing the things that are working. Hopefully I'll have more days like today and get in contention more.

Q. We've talked throughout the year where your game's trending in the right direction, you're playing well, you've talked about playing well. Do you feel like there's still another gear for you and you could take it even higher than where you are right now?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, absolutely. I'm sort of -- consistently sort of all right, but I'm not at the top of the leaderboards, and that's where I want to get to.

I think everything that I'm doing, and I think I show signs that every aspect of the game at certain times is really, really good. It's like putting it all together more and more often and then having them all firing at the same time.

I think -- like I said before, when you play in -- you don't think about it. You do your best to stay very present and do your best with the shot that's in front of you and play the round you're playing without looking at the overall big picture, which I think is much easier when you step away.

So I think things are going in the right direction, and I just have to keep doing what I'm doing. Yeah, for sure, I have much more in me, and you have to believe in yourself all the time. When the biggest events come around, you have to be ready to play well in those and compete.

Q. Tommy, this is your fourth appearance here. Is this the course that kind of fits your game? How do you like playing out here?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it's beaten me up once, and the other times I played pretty well. It's not somewhere where you can overpower. I think you have to be very patient. I think you have to be a good iron player.

So far -- last year I actually had a really good week where I felt like I was struggling with my game all week, but I putted really, really well. I made the cut on the mark by one and had a really good weekend and putted really well. Today I putted really well.

So there's definitely aspects of the golf course that I like and I enjoy playing. I'd love the wind to be up a bit more over the weekend and have that challenge to play with.

I actually enjoy playing the week after majors. I feel like they're the ultimate in, you know, every aspect of your game and the challenges that the game can present you. I think the majors are the ultimate, and I quite like coming the week after. That way you've prepared so hard for those, and you feel like you've done everything you can. So you sort of come here with the mindset of everything's done and you just go out and play.

I don't know whether it's the timing of what this event is or whether it's the course, but I seem pretty happy with both.

Q. Did you put kind of like a strong 3-wood in this week?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: The mini driver. Well, like last week, my 3-wood is a really hot 3-wood. I like to feel, if I drive, I can give myself a chance to reach in some really long par-5s. It's got like -- it draws by really. If I miss it, it's generally off the toe, and it hooks, which was amazing for last week, step up on the 10th tee and just let it go and the 8th and holes that are up.

But I didn't really feel like it was right for this week. And Fred Couples had the mini driver, and he was raving about it. He said it was so, so good. So I wanted to try one this week. Yeah, I put it straight in the bag, and I've hit it a lot so far.